This is from a presentation I made at SESAC in June 2008Every creative person has success in mind and usually with success comes money. It is a difficult transition to make when the big checks start coming in, and below is a road-map for people in that situation. Keep in mind that this is just my humble perspective.
GET A GOOD FINANCIAL TEAM
Why do you need a team? A good team provides peace of mind, and helps you prosper. You can focus on what you do best, which is creating or performing, without having to worry about paying the bills or the type of investments you need. I usually encourage people to get their money’s worth, as you get what you pay for. Having a cousin or a sibling handling money is a recipe for disaster, unless they are already proficient in that field. To those that claim to be able to do it themselves, I offer the “crazier of the two” analogy and that usually shuts them up. It goes as follows: Seems like of one us is crazy. Either I am crazy for having studied all these years and obtained these credentials when someone with no training can do my job, or you are crazy for thinking you can do as well as I without my training and experience. Which on of the two do you think makes sense? A good team has to be a good fit as you should feel comfortable dealing with and talking to them. Condescendence has no place in this field regardless of a client’s educational level or social background, but many stuffy traditional firms do not seem to get it. A fit also means the competencies of the firm you are considering. A CPA should not be doing your estate planning and an insurance agent should not be doing your taxes. Finally, one needs to assess how good that team is. This involves checking references, verifying credentials and talking to people they do business with. This is called due diligence, and many people tend to skip that step.
BE ACCOUNTABLE
Once one has a team in place, the hard part begins. I push my clients to get educated and become familiar with the various terminologies (such as Assets, Liabilities, Bonds, CDs, Stocks, etc…), how they’re being charged for products (commission or fee?), and other things such as their tax brackets and various rules. The more one knows, the better decisions they can make for themselves. It is also important to know the details. This means actually reading your statements to know where you stand financially and showing up to appointments; when there, please stay awake and be involved. I have seen it all from yawning and texting away during financial meetings, but the only one losing out is the client. All the other parties only need to point to that meeting in case anything goes wrong and say “but he/she was there!”, thus declining responsibility. Which leads me to my next point: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. It is your money so shame has no place in there. Questions such as “why this”? “How does it work”? “How long does it take to reach my goals”? These are pertinent questions which will help you remain accountable.
GET A GOOD FINANCIAL TEAM
Why do you need a team? A good team provides peace of mind, and helps you prosper. You can focus on what you do best, which is creating or performing, without having to worry about paying the bills or the type of investments you need. I usually encourage people to get their money’s worth, as you get what you pay for. Having a cousin or a sibling handling money is a recipe for disaster, unless they are already proficient in that field. To those that claim to be able to do it themselves, I offer the “crazier of the two” analogy and that usually shuts them up. It goes as follows: Seems like of one us is crazy. Either I am crazy for having studied all these years and obtained these credentials when someone with no training can do my job, or you are crazy for thinking you can do as well as I without my training and experience. Which on of the two do you think makes sense? A good team has to be a good fit as you should feel comfortable dealing with and talking to them. Condescendence has no place in this field regardless of a client’s educational level or social background, but many stuffy traditional firms do not seem to get it. A fit also means the competencies of the firm you are considering. A CPA should not be doing your estate planning and an insurance agent should not be doing your taxes. Finally, one needs to assess how good that team is. This involves checking references, verifying credentials and talking to people they do business with. This is called due diligence, and many people tend to skip that step.
BE ACCOUNTABLE
Once one has a team in place, the hard part begins. I push my clients to get educated and become familiar with the various terminologies (such as Assets, Liabilities, Bonds, CDs, Stocks, etc…), how they’re being charged for products (commission or fee?), and other things such as their tax brackets and various rules. The more one knows, the better decisions they can make for themselves. It is also important to know the details. This means actually reading your statements to know where you stand financially and showing up to appointments; when there, please stay awake and be involved. I have seen it all from yawning and texting away during financial meetings, but the only one losing out is the client. All the other parties only need to point to that meeting in case anything goes wrong and say “but he/she was there!”, thus declining responsibility. Which leads me to my next point: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. It is your money so shame has no place in there. Questions such as “why this”? “How does it work”? “How long does it take to reach my goals”? These are pertinent questions which will help you remain accountable.
To be continued...
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